Cystic fibrosis is a genetic, progressive disease. My lungs, digestive system, and organs have been working in overdrive since the day I was born. My biggest dream has always been to live an ordinary life, but CF made that difficult. 
 

Despite a few bumps in the road, the medical advancements made possible by the CF Foundation have given me a chance to live out that lifelong dream - to live a normal life for as long as I can. This would not be possible without the generosity of people like you. Your support is fueling groundbreaking research and advancements. The CF Foundation doesn’t just want to treat cystic fibrosis, they want to cure it.

Unfortunately, not everyone with CF is able to benefit from drugs like Trikafta and even some that do still face many health challenges. That’s why the CF Foundation is fueling the most advanced science to make a cure a reality and provide treatments for all. They are funding multiple gene therapies and promising studies in gene editing.

The CF Great Strides Walk is the best and easiest way to get involved with the CF Foundation! Come be a part of a fun morning, get some exercise, and help raise some money!! With how close we are to a cure, this is truly something you want to be a part of. 

I believe a cure is possible in my lifetime. When I was born, doctors told my parents, my life expectancy was only 31 years old – I’m 28 today. Because of people like you and donations like yours, I’m able to continue to dream for my future. 

Here's a little bit more of my story with CF (if you like reading haha): 

In middle school, I was following a strict regimen of daily treatments and medications, and getting hospitalized for two weeks at a time each year. Then in high school, my lung functions dropped rapidly due to a mycobacteria infections, leading to even more hospitalizations, time in the ICU, and six months of IV antibiotics through a port. In college, my lung functions continued to decrease into the 40s. To put that into perspective, I bet a lot of y’all reading this have lung functions around 100s. 

Luckily, around my senior year of college, I got to start taking a revolutionary new drug called Trikafta, which was made possible thanks to the research funded by the CF Foundation. This medicine stabilized my lung functions which gave me more energy and I spent less time being sick. I even went 5 years without being hospitalized! This was beyond helpful as I finished out school, earned my master’s degree, and started my career at Deloitte. 

Unfortunately, this summer my no-hospital streak came to an end when my lung suddenly collapsed and I was rushed to the emergency room. To fix the collapsed lung, they did a procedure to insert a chest tube and I immediately was able to breathe better. I then was transported to Emory Hospital to be with my normal CF Care team. This whole thing came as a shock to both me and my doctors because overall I felt like I was in a really healthy and stable place thanks to Trikafta. But my doctor explained that while not common, a lung collapse can spontaneously happen to people with chronic lung diseases. He explained that it was crucial for my lung to expand back naturally instead of intervening with surgery because a surgery would complicate things if I need a lung transplant in the future. My lung took quite a long time to re-expand after collapsing but after 3 long weeks in the hospital, and 3 chest tubes later, my lung expanded back into place and I was released from the hospital!